This invention relates to the field of furniture. More particularly, a glider chair is presented which allows a chair to achieve smooth, horizontal forward gliding motion.
Rocking chairs have been known in the art for hundreds of years. The simplest of rocking chairs includes a chair seat, essentially perpendicular back, legs and curved or arcuate rocking chair feet. The chair rocks back and forth by a simple movement of the occupant""s legs.
Another type of chair is a glider chair. The glider chair has a seat and back connected to a base mechanism such that the seat and back move back and forth in an essentially parallel line. The glider chair is connected to a stationary base by pivoting arms which keep the base seat essentially parallel to the ground as it moves forward and backward. Glider chairs are common throughout the art and are frequently used as outdoor furniture or porch furniture. One example of a recently patented glider chair is the 1998 U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,913 issued to LaPointe. This glider chair included an improved glider linkage that had front and back glide links laterally preloaded so that non-precision bearing may be utilized. The chair is surrounded by a rigid box like frame mechanism so that the extended glide links provide a smooth and relatively flat glide motion.
Normal chairs are frequently utilized for various purposes. For example, a chair may be used to sit and to watch television. It may also be used at a table for dining. However, a gliding chair would not normally be useful as a dining chair, since the stationary base of the glider would not allow the chair to be moved up close enough to the table to provide a comfortable chair. It is an object of this invention to provide a glider chair that may be placed in a position near a table such that the seat may be moved forwardly while still keeping parallel to the floor, and while the base moves somewhat forward as it moves on its rocker feet.
Other and further objects of this invention will become obvious upon reading the below described Specification.
A gliding chair is presented which has an essentially horizontal seat with a slanted back. The chair is attached to four symmetrical arcuate feet by means of chair legs. The front left and right arcuate feet are connected together by cross braces. Similarly, the rear left and right arcuate feet are also connected together by cross braces. The front and rear set of arcuate rocker feet are then connected by a glider brace connector. With the forward placement of the back seat on the seat base, and a degree of tilt between 70 and 80 degrees, the chair has almost no rocking motion as it moves forward. Rather the chair seat remains nearly horizontal to the floor as the seat is moved forward or backward.